Decades of archaeological research have established the chronology of the history of culture by farmers in northern South Africa from the beginning of the first millennium AD to the recent past (1900). This thesis sought to explore the archaeology and archaeometallurgy of the early inhabitants of the Lowveld region. Rigorous methodological and theoretical approaches, which include Ethno-Historical, archaeological and archaeometallurgical studies, were employed to acquire the relevant information required to address research problems. Ceramic typology and settlement pattern studies were used to establish the culture-history to contextualise Iron Age sites, while Optical Microscopy, X-Ray Fluorescence analysis (XRF) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) were used to investigate the metallurgical remains to understand metal production technology. Both Mutoti and Thomo sites share several similarities, namely, they are situated near the perennial streams, the presence of metal-production sites and the predominant pottery types, consisting of short and long neck vessels dominated by comb stamping, incision and punctate decorations on the rim, neck and shoulder of the vessels. Ceramic tradition analysis revealed that both Mut 2 and Thomo combine ceramic designs and attributes that appeared in the region near the beginning of the first Millennium AD, that is the Urewe and the Kalundu traditions. Garonga Phase tradition developed from the Urewe tradition which represent the first facie, represented by the Silver Leaves sites of the Kwale branch ceramic tradition which dates to AD 280- 420 and the Kalundu tradition (which starts from Happy Rest and progresses to Diamant - Phase 2) which dates from the sixth century AD, both traditions share distinctive ceramics styles and decoration attributes (Burrett, 2007; Huffman, 2007). The radiocarbon-based chronology suggests that Mut 2 and Thomo sites were occupied contemporaneously and dated to AD 650-850. Analysis of the distribution of materials objects across Mut 2 site revealed active participation in both local and international trade network (Soapstone and Islamic ceramics) operated at a village status. Some of the craft production related evidence include metal production, eggshell beads and cloth manufacturing. Metal production was regarded as signature of power and authority in Iron Age period (Herbert, 1996). More research may strengthen this observation.

This diploma theses is about the study of the effect of individual components of printing compositions intended for material printing of identificaton codes, read by X-ray fluorescence. Two printing technologies were used – screen printing and pad printing. The composition of the print compositions has been optimized in term of visual recognition, print repeatability, a dry matter content providing an X-ray fluorescence signal, as well as optimization of the material print process leading to the creation of invisible identification tags for archive documents.

The Master’s thesis deals with study printing and optimization of a chemical labels with a code readable by XRF technique. The study is focusing on the identifiability of components in chemical code through data analysis in the Origin program environment and reproducibility of the analysis. The responses of the XRF signal on real samples of historical documents were studied and possible interfering elements were identified. Based on these analyses, a recommendation was formulated for the method of evaluating the obtained data, code analysis and also for the composition of the printing formulation.

The diploma thesis deals with aluminum food packaging. At first was made a literature recherche relating to this subject. In the next part was realized market analysis of food products, in which is usually used aluminum or aluminum composite in the Czech Republic. After the market analysis we were measuring the samples. We choosed dairy products packaging, for example packaging of the yoghurt (different sizes), the packaging from a curd, from a blue cheese and thermized cheese (Lučina). In selected types of dairy products packaging was set qualitative weight distribution of aluminum-containing composite materials and with the X-ray fluorescence spectrometry was made the qualitative measurement of the aluminum content in these obtained samples. The aluminium content in the metal parts of my samples was between 46,9% and 99,1%.

This diploma thesis is focusing on heavy metals content measuring in sewage sludge. The thesis is divided into theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part deals with valid legislation of the Czech Republic, with toxic effect of heavy metals on environment and population health, and with X-ray spectrometry and technical equipment of selected WWTPs.

Excavation is a common method to clean up areas with increased levels of metal contamination. Identifying the degree of soil contamination is normally done by a laboratory analysis but it could also be done using a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) in the field. This project has investigated how well XRF results correlate with the results from the laboratory and how the water ratio affects the results in XRF measurement. The purpose has been to gain an increased knowledge of how soil samples should be handled to obtain a reliable XRF result. Data was compared between lab results and XRF results. Soil samples with different water ratios have been examined to see whether moist affect the XRF results. The results indicate that the reliability of XRF results depends on the metal being studied. The water ratio also affects the result to varying degrees depending on the metal. This study has involved arsenic, lead, nickel, copper and zinc. The main focus is on arsenic, and the results show no significant difference between the two aforementioned methods. There is however a significant difference at some water quotas, but the result correlate very well and can be estimated based on the equation calculated in the results. Results show that a portable XRF is a reliable instrument for dry samples of arsenic, but laboratory analysis should be used to confirm the results at low levels of arsenic close to the applicable limit values due to margin of error when measuring with a portable XRF.

Lithic source analysis, or “sourcing,” is a geochemical compositional analysis of lithic materials for both major and trace elements. Sourcing analysis assigns lithic sources to geochemical groups according to distinct geochemical compositions, where unique elemental signatures represent separate lithic sources. In archaeological research, sourcing informs upon mobility strategies, trade and exchange networks, and lithic conveyance studies. While obsidian sourcing is a relatively reliable and popular technique, chert sourcing is more difficult and historically less successful largely due to variability in chert formation processes. X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) offers a possible sourcing technique, and is non-destructive, as well as time and cost-effective. In this thesis, I test the reliability of XRF in determining the geochemical characterization of Tosawihi Quarries chert, a unique chert source located in the Humboldt River Basin of north-central Nevada. The Tosawihi Quarries archaeological district (26EK6624) is a significant lithic resource that has hosted human occupation and activity for millennia. The Tosawihi Quarries offers a high quality toolstone that was intensely used, as indicated by numerous quarry locales and biface tool caches. Additionally, the Tosawihi Quarries is a social identity marker for the Tosawihi band of Western Shoshone, also serving as a source of spirituality and medicine. Tosawihi chert is a distinct, white lithic material type that also has a characteristic fluorescence pattern when exposed to ultraviolet light. While these are defining attributes, they are not unique to Tosawihi chert, as they occur in other Great Basin white chert sources. Identifying Tosawihi chert has been problematic, and misidentifications may have led to erroneous interpretations of the archaeological and ethnographic records. If successful, a geochemical characterization by XRF would provide an elemental signature specific to Tosawihi chert, thus eliminating discrepancies in visual and ultraviolet fluorescence readings and permitting archaeologists to accurately asses the distribution and use of this sacred material. In this thesis research, I first conducted an XRF analysis of a source standard collection of Tosawihi Quarries chert, which yielded a preliminary methodology for identifying Tosawihi chert. This protocol was tested against two comparative collections of other Great Basin white cherts: Mono Lake Spillway located in western Nevada and Pahute Mesa (26NY1408) located in southern Nevada. The methodology, now refined, was then run against the archaeological collection, where five collections of white chert artifacts were tested for the presence of Tosawihi chert. Incorporating both the qualitative and quantitative data from XRF analysis, the results show that this proposed methodology can successfully discriminate between Tosawihi chert and other Great Basin white cherts based on its XRF signature.

Sediments in Lake C3, Ellesmere Island, Canada, contain annual laminations, providing a record of sediment accumulation for 1900+ years. Marine sediments are also present at base of cores, recording lake isolation following isostatic rebound of the Taconite Inlet region in the mid-Holocene. Beyond weak correlations with snowfall and summer temperature and precipitation, varve thickness comparisons with instrumental data were largely unsuccessful, likely due to turbidite-induced erosion. However, summer climate conditions are of key importance in varve thicknesses at many Arctic sites and we expect this to be true at Lake C3. Trends in the thickness record also correspond in approximate timing and response to large-scale climate events including the Little Ice Age (thin laminations) and the Medieval Warm Period (thick laminations). Long term trends and variability in the thickness record are also likely influenced by the weakening flow of the Taconite River following deglaciation as well as localized geomorphic events. Elemental profiles combined with varve thickness features identify anoxic periods resulting from ice-cover- or marine incursion- induced stratification. Through synthetic aperature radar imagery we verify the strong link between air temperature and ice-cover conditions during the summer. Modification to tephra isolation methods resulted in the successful extraction of cryptotephra. Shards are currently undergoing microprobe identification to identify volcanic source and eruption timing. Sediments at Lake C3 provide a high-resolution record of local and regional environmental change and add to the high-latitude network of reconstructions with the objective of placing current changes in a long-term context.

En omfattande multiproxyanalys har utförts på provtagningar från två vattenhål belägna i Skåneregionen i Sverige. Denna mångsidiga analys involverade flera aspekter, inklusive markkemi, entomologi, mikrofossiler och makrofossiler. Resultaten från markkemianalysen avslöjade betydande skillnader mellan de två vattenhålen. Vattenhål 1 uppvisade en högre halt av organiskt material, vilket tyder på högre glödförluster och högre värden av maximal magnetisk susceptibilitet (MS550) och totalfosfat (CitPOI). För att ytterligare karakterisera egenskaperna hos vattenhålen användes även analyserna infrarödspektroskopi (NiR) och röntgenfluorescens (XRF).   Vattenhål 2 visade tecken på att ha fyllts med bosättningsavfall från platsen. Detta stöddes av markkemiresultaten som visade en lägre halt av organiskt material samt närvaron av antropogena material, såsom förkolnade frön, träkol, bränd lera, ben och keramikfragment.   Makrofossilanalysen avslöjade intressanta fynd. I vattenhål 1 hade växter som etternässla (Urtica urens) och kråkklöver (Comarum palustre) deponerats, tillsammans med enstaka exemplar av Thrips major Uzel. I kontrast bestod de förkolnade fröna från vattenhål 2 huvudsakligen av ogräs, inklusive svinmålla (Chenopodium album) och nattskatta (Solanum nigrum). Det fanns även spår av sädeskorn som korn (Hordeum vulgare), samt oidentifierade fragment av sädeskorn. Resultaten från makrofossilanalysen indikerade att materialet från vattenhål 1 härstammar troligtvis från forntida mänskliga aktiviteter, som odling.   Mikrofossilanalysen visade att det inte fanns några kiselalger (diatoméer) i något av vattenhålen. Sammantaget antyder resultaten från multiproxyanalysen att vattenhål 1 hade genomgått minst tre olika faser i sin historia, medan vattenhål 2 hade fyllts med jord och material från en bosättningsliknande plats, vilket gjorde det svårt att entydigt tolka själva vattenhålets historia och funktion.

No description available.